Congratulations to the 2020 Alumni Award Honorees!

Distinguished Alumni Award: Dr. Candace Kendle (IHHS 1964)

Dr. Candace Kendle was the Co-founder and former Chairman and CEO of Kendle International Inc., a global clinical research organization that delivered a wide range of clinical development and clinical trial services to biopharmaceutical companies around the world. Kendle International Inc. was responsible for clinical trials of hundreds of compounds in hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide. The most notable was the development of Celebrex. INC Research, LLC, acquired the company in 2011.

She is recognized worldwide as a leader in the CRO industry and is a founding member and past chairperson of the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO).

Dr. Kendle earned a Bachelor of Science and Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of Cincinnati, College of Pharmacy. She was awarded an honorary Ph.D. in Science, University of Cincinnati in 2010.

Prior to founding Kendle International Inc., Dr. Kendle held senior faculty positions at several leading academic institutions including University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine; University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine; Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science; and the University of Cincinnati, College of Pharmacy.

She joined the Emerson Board of Directors in 2014 where she currently sits on the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, and Audit Committee. She has held long-standing positions on the Board of Directors for UPS and H.J. Heinz Company, primarily involved in Audit, Corporate Governance, Technology and Innovation, Management Development and Compensation Committees.

Dr. Kendle is the President and Co-founder of the Read Aloud 15 MINUTES National Campaign, a national non-profit organization that fosters parent engagement in early childhood development. As a result of this work, she was a recipient of the Business Champion for Children Award, ReadyNation, Washington D.C. in October 2015.

Dr. Kendle is also a member of the Committee of 200, an organization of preeminent women entrepreneurs and corporate leaders. In early 2015, she was invited to a global convening of business leaders to set a path for career equity in the next century in Pisa, Italy.

In 2017, Dr. Kendle became the first female recipient of the Association of Corporate Growth – Cincinnati, Deal Maker Lifetime Achievement Award. The Deal Maker Awards are one of the oldest and most prestigious honors within the regional business community. The program recognizes the top deals and leading deal makers within the Tri-State.

Brave Service Award: The Dorothy Koch Family Foundation

Thanks to the gifts of the Dorothy Koch Family Foundation, the STEAM curriculum of Indian Hill Elementary School, and indeed the entire District has been transformed. “The Dorothy Koch Family Foundation honors our mother Dorothy Kautz Koch and her lifelong commitment to education,” state her children Lisa Greene (’74), Bill Koch (’68), Jim Koch (’67) and Susan Koch (’65). Mrs. Koch emphasized education both in raising her four children and in her career as an elementary school teacher, including many years at Indian Hill Elementary. All of her children and four of her grandchildren are Indian Hill graduates. Starting in 2008, gifts from the Dorothy Koch Family Foundation, given through the Indian Hill Foundation, have totaled over $150,000 and have continued her legacy of impact by truly transforming the STEAM curriculum across the Indian Hill District.

Dr. Melissa Stewart, Asst Superintendent of Indian Hill Schools, states, “their consistent support has been a catalyst of instructional and curriculum change not only in the Elementary School, but across the District.” Grants from the Dorothy Koch Family Foundation have built an unprecedented environment for STEAM (Science, Technology, Education, Arts and Math) learning. They helped expand STEAM learning to all students in the Elementary school and inspired the other district schools to revamp their curriculums as well. In the fall of 2018, the District officially opened the Elementary School’s Dorothy Koch iLab. The iLab is an innovative, hands-on space that immerses every single student in STEAM experiences. “The room offers voice and choice to students in exploration, and builds important skills of critical thinking, creativity and collaboration,” explains Dr. Stewart.

Furthermore, Dr. Stewart states, “the iLab has become a model of space and instruction, resulting in over 30 visitors from other districts and agencies to gather inspiration for their own initiatives in STEAM."

It is with great pride that the Indian Hill Foundation honors the Dorothy Koch Family Foundation for their unrivaled impact on all the students of Indian Hill Schools.

Young Brave Award: Sarah E. Sanders (IHHS 2008)

Sarah Sanders is the Co-founder of Native AgTech, Inc, a software company based between New York City and the Midwest focused on generating greater efficiency and transparency in our food supply chain. Sarah began her career working in hospitality at the Tavern Restaurant Group, a family-owned business started by her father, Nick Sanders.

Upon completing her MBA in 2014 she joined Rubicon Global, a cloud-based platform for waste and recycling services, where she worked for the CEO managing investor relations through multiple rounds of fundraising. After tremendous company growth she transitioned to build Rubicon’s first SMB & Mid-Market sales teams. In 2017 Sarah joined Toast, a cloud-based point-of-sale system addressing the antiquated restaurant technology market. She relocated to New York City to aggressively grow Toast’s market share in the iconic Manhattan restaurant scene, prior to launching Native.

In 2019 Sarah was awarded the Distinguished Young Alumni Award from the University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business & Economics, and shortly after joined the college’s Emerging Leaders Board. She earned her undergraduate degree in Business Management from the University of Kentucky and her MBA in International Business from Xavier University.